Greg Fergus

Député de 🇨🇦 Member of Parliament for Hull—Aylmer

[Kristina Tesser Derksen @KristinaTesserD]

Hi Larry,

Thanks for the question. You are right that Conservatives proposed amendments to narrow Bill C-16's constitutional safety valve. So why were those amendments rejected

The answer is simple: the safety valve exists to help preserve mandatory minimum penalties, not eliminate them.

For years, Canadian courts have struck down mandatory minimums when they violated the Charter. Bill C-16 takes a different approach by allowing judges to depart from a mandatory minimum only in the exceptionally rare case where applying it would be unconstitutional.

The Conservative amendments would have restricted that safeguard and imposed more political control over independent courts. Conservatives often talk about limiting government overreach, yet they repeatedly want politicians to dictate decisions that should be made by judges applying the law and the constitution.

The irony is that without a constitutional safety valve, courts are more likely to strike down mandatory minimums entirely. With one, Parliament has a better chance of preserving them.

Rejecting those amendments wasn't about weakening sentences. It was about protecting judicial independence, respecting the Charter, and helping ensure mandatory minimum penalties survive to protect victims.

[Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський @ZelenskyyUa]

Last night, our long-range sanctions once again reached the Moscow region – for the second time this week, the Moscow oil refinery was hit. Targets were also struck in the Rostov region and in temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. This is a fully justified response to Russian attacks on our cities and communities, and another important result of our warriors’ work against facilities that sustain Russia’s war machine. I thank our Defense and Security Forces of Ukraine for their coordinated efforts – the Security Service of Ukraine, the Unmanned Systems Forces, the Special Operations Forces, Defense Intelligence, and our missile brigade for their precision.

In recent days, all of our partners have noted the precision and effectiveness of our mid-range strikes and long-range sanctions. It is time the war ended, and Russia must take the necessary steps in diplomacy.

[Barack Obama @BarackObama]

It was great reconnecting with our alumni tonight!

Michelle and I will always be grateful for the chance to work side-by-side with so many brilliant, selfless people who believed in something bigger than themselves.

[Barack Obama @BarackObama]

But the Obama Presidential Center is not just about commemorating the work we did together. It’s about inspiring the next generation to make their mark, too. Thank you for everything you did for us, and everything you’re still doing to leave this world better than you found it.

[Corey Hogan 🇨🇦 @coreyhoganyyc]

Apparently I was permanently banned from Putin’s Russian Federation yesterday.

[Kateryna Lisunova @KaterynaLis]

Very emotional moment from the interview with Zelenskyy. You should watch this.

JOURNALIST: Do you miss being an actor?

ZELENSKYY:?I miss being a good father.

JOURNALIST: When your children were little, what did you tell them the most? What was the thing that you told them the most when they were small?

ZELENSKYY: I love you.

JOURNALIST: And what do you tell them now that they're older?

ZELENSKYY: Oh, I miss you.

JOURNALIST: When was the last time you cried?

ZELENSKYY: I will try to do it after our interview. No, I mean this, between us. I'm a normal man and then there are a lot of different moments, between us, almost each day, a lot of losses on the battlefield and civilians, and there are absolutely crazy attacks on our people.

And I'm just, it's… I mean, It's very difficult really, when I give orders (medals). I said about it. It's always difficult for me when I give orders (medals) to the mothers and fathers, who lost their children. In such moments, really, I often cry.

JOURNALIST: Are you a hero?

ZELENSKYY: No.

JOURNALIST: So who is your hero?

ZELENSKYY:?My hero? My children, my army, our army, and Ukrainian people. So I'm a part… I'm also a Ukrainian, so I'm a part of our nation. But now our nation, I think, that our nation is absolutely heroic.

[Mark Carney @MarkJCarney]

Assurer une paix juste et durable pour l'Ukraine et l'Europe.

C'est notre priorité de ce matin ici, au Sommet du G7 à Évian, en France.

[Mark Carney @MarkJCarney]

Securing a just and lasting peace for Ukraine and Europe.

That’s our focus this morning at the G7 Summit here in Évian, France.

[penny collenette 🇨🇦 @penottawa]

This omission is a big mistake. Africa is going to be a significant economic powerhouse. @davidhornsby

[Greg Fergus @GregFergus]

An idea worth considering.

[🇨🇦 Jamie Carroll 🇨🇦 @jec79]

In @TheHillTimes today with something a little different: if the government. Is going to bother regulating social media, why not tackle the real issue?
Curious what people - not bots - think.

[Greg MacEachern @gmacofglebe]

Remember when the Reform MPs used to criticize the Bloc Québécois for taking pensions?

[Greg Fergus @GregFergus]

John Manley is a measured, talented, outstanding public servant of Canada's for many decades. This is very high praise indeed.

[Scott Robertson @sarobertson_]

Former deputy PM John Manley: We used to always refer to the president of the United States as the leader of the free world. Donald Trump is not the leader of anything other than about the 37% of Americans that still support him. If anything, intellectually at least, Mark Carney has become the leader of the free world, the countries that believe in democracy and the rule of law.

[Scott Robertson @sarobertson_]

Former deputy PM John Manley: We used to always refer to the president of the United States as the leader of the free world. Donald Trump is not the leader of anything other than about the 37% of Americans that still support him. If anything, intellectually at least, Mark Carney has become the leader of the free world, the countries that believe in democracy and the rule of law.

[Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський @ZelenskyyUa]

I thank all friends of Ukraine and everyone who helps us obtain important information and supports Ukrainian intelligence operations. Our intelligence agencies reported on the results of their work to assess the internal situation in Russia and obtain documents that end up on the Russian leader’s desk. We understand that Putin rarely receives information that is entirely truthful and unvarnished. But even what he sees in the documents that reach him still allows conclusions to be drawn.

In particular, the so-called “projected indicators” of Russians’ dissatisfaction with Putin will continue to rise steadily, and he is already being conditioned to accept the idea that this growing dissatisfaction cannot be stopped and that this indicator “will not plateau” by September, when parliamentary elections are scheduled in Russia.

As for the level of support for Russia’s ruling party, a steady downward trend is being recorded, which means significantly greater electoral fraud will be needed. They are also reporting a substantial rise in protest sentiment in Russian regions. We believe these reports also do not yet take into account the potential events of June, July, and August, which are bound to further affect the situation in Russia.

The entirely justified pressure on Russia over this war will continue and intensify – and it won’t be just our pressure. So by September, Putin will be facing significantly worse indicators. Unfortunately, to all the public and non-public peace proposals we have made, the only response has been words about continuing his war.

The internal situation in Russia should convince him of the opposite: that peace is needed. Ukraine is proposing to negotiate a dignified peace. Obviously, the trends will not change, and over time this may mean that an agreement will have to be reached with someone else from Russia – someone who will not shut themselves off from reality. Glory to Ukraine!

[Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський @ZelenskyyUa]

Є хороші результати наших воїнів у застосуванні далекобійних санкцій по важливих об’єктах на території Росії та тимчасово окупованих територіях України.

Більш ніж 700 кілометрів від нашого державного кордону – у Ярославському регіоні Росії воїни СБУ уразили нафтовий обʼєкт, що мав значення для резерву держави-агресора.

Воїни нашої армії досягли цілей в Тульському регіоні Росії – по підприємству «Азот», від діяльності якого залежать спроможності з виробництва вибухових речовин.

У шести російських аеропортах були застосовані обмеження авіаруху, а загалом за період від учорашнього вечора у 28 регіонах Росії оголошувалась повітряна тривога.

Були влучання і по воєнній логістиці окупанта на тимчасово окупованій території України.

Україна виконує план далекобійних санкцій проти Росії та визначені завдання щодо мідлстрайків у відповідь на відмову Росії завершувати цю війну. Ми пропонували керівництву Росії всі можливі формати перемовин, і відповіддю стало лише продовження агресії та спроби її розширити. Логічно, що війна повертається туди, звідки й прийшла. Україні потрібен мир. Слава Україні!

[G Godwin @gill_godwin]

@MarkJCarney was born in Canada.
And you Roman were born in the the Soviet Union.
What is your point?
#cdnpolitics

[Saganism @Saganismm]

“If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.”

— Haruki Murakami

[OSINTtechnical @Osinttechnical]

Overnight, Ukrainian mid-range attack drones swarmed and struck the Russian-occupied Crimean Titan chemical plant in Armyansk, a key producer of Titanium oxide and nitrate (explosive) products.

Seen here, onboard footage as multiple Ukrainian attack drones slam into the plant.

[Scott Robertson @sarobertson_]

Anita Anand: In response directly to the need for more humanitarian aid, Canada is announcing today $100 million in funding to support the people of Palestine ... This funding is going to support emergency medical assistance, protection and shelter, sanitation, as well as food and water.

[Dominic LeBlanc @DLeBlancNB]

Aujourd’hui, les ministres fédéral, provinciaux et territoriaux responsables du Transport et de la Sécurité routière ont signé un nouveau protocole d’entente sur le camionnage interprovincial afin de réduire les obstacles au commerce intérieur et d’harmoniser davantage les règles au sein de l’industrie du camionnage.

Voici ce que cela signifie pour les Canadiens et les Canadiennes.

Pour en savoir plus : https://t.co/0dx6aIWzM6